Letter opener



Oct. 17,1944. R. T. CUMMINGS 2,360,652

LETTER OPENER Filed Feb. 29, 1944 INVENTQR.

Patented Oct. 17, 1944 .v UNITED STATES PATE T OFFICE 4 LETTER OPENER. 7 Robert T. Cummings, Spokane, Wash. Application February 29, 1944; Serial No. 524,454

2 Claims. 1 01. 36-9286) This invention relates to a letter opener and it is one object of the invention to provide a device of this character of such construction that a letter may be very easily opened but there will be no danger of cutting a person's fingers or likelihood of the blade being nicked or broken if the letter opener is dropped upon a hard floor.

Another objectof the invention is to provide a letter opener wherein the blade is disposed between arms which serve as shields for the blade and also as guides for directing the blade into opening engagement with an envelope.

Another object of the invention is to provide the letter opener with arms which are yieldable and thus permit the opener to accommodate itself to letters of various thicknesses.

Another object of the invention is to so form the letter opener that it may be very readily held in a persons hand while opening a letter.

Another object of the invention is to provide a letter opener having its bodyequipped with a finger-receiving stall which is pivotally engaged with the body by a pin which also serves as a fastener for firmly anchoring the shank of the blade in the body.

Another object of the invention is to provide a letter opener which is neat and attractive in appearance .and can be manufactured at small cost.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a letter opener of the improved construction.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a modified form of letter opener.

Fig. 4 is a sectional View on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of another modified form of opener.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the line 6--6 of The improved letter opener illustrated in Figs. 1 and2, has a body I which serves as a handle and at its front end carries forwardly extending arms 2 and transversely extending guards 3 which project from opposite sides of its front end. The handle, the arms, and the guards are integrally united and may be formed from metal, plastic, or other suitable material having sufficient resiliency to permit the arms to be flexed toward and away from each other and'thus accommodate the opener to letters of various thicknesses. The handle I is of suflicient length to permit it to be grasped in a persons hand with the guards bearing against thehand at the thumb and first finger and the'arms are of such length thatthey may extend well across the envelope to be opened when the device is in use. Free front ends of the arms are bent to form lips 4 which diverge from each other, as shown in Fig.

1, and serve to guide the arms into engagement with an envelope. It will thus be seen that the arms may be very easily thrust into engagement with an envelope.

The blade 5 extends longitudinally of the arms in spaced relation to inner faces thereof, as shown in Fig. 2, and, at its rear end, the blade is provided with a shank 6 embedded in the handle where it is firmly held by havingthe body molded about it or the shank may be fitted into a pocket formed in the body and secured therein in any desired manner. The front end of the blade is tapered to a point 1 and opposite side edges of the blade are sharpened, as shown at 8.

When this letter opener is in use it is held in one hand by the handle I and thrust forwardly so that a letter to be opened will be straddled by the arms 2. As the letter moves between the arms the pointed front end of the blade will penetrate the confronting edge portion of the envelope and the opener is then moved along this edge of the envelope and severs the edge portion of the envelope for the full length thereof. The opener is then withdrawn and a letter may be removed from the opened envelope. Since the arms are resilient, they may be pressed against the envelope or, if an unusually thick envelope is to be opened, the arms may flex away from each other as they move into contact with the envelope.

The opener illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 is of substantially triangular shape when viewed in top plan and has a solid body 9 from one. side of which project arms or plates l0. These flanges or plates serve as guides for straddling a letter to be opened and the inner side edge face Ilof longitudinally, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3. Ends of the body are rounded, as shown at l2, in order that the body may be readily held in a person's hand and also. allow the device to be slid into engagement with a letter either from one end of the body or at the rounded free ends l3 of the arms ID. The cutter M has its shank I5 embedded in the solid body and this cutter has a pair of blades l6 which diverge from each other and extend toward opposite ends of the body. Therefore, when this opener is in use, either blade may be engaged under an end of the sealed flap of an envelope and the envelope ripped open as the device is moved along the envelope. The shank I5 is formed with side arms 16 at its rear or inner end and firmly anchors the shank to the body and there has also been provided a pin I! which passes through the body and the shank of the cutter with one end riveted through a finger stall l8. The pin, therefore, serves as a fastener for the finger stall and since the finger stall is pivotally mounted by the pin, it may be turned to such position that a finger of the hand grasping the opener may be engaged in the finger stall and the device easily slid along the envelope to be ripped open.

The letter opener illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 is somewhat similar to that illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 and has a solid body H! from which arms 20 extend. The entire opener is of substantially elliptical outline and free ends of the arms 20 are formed with rounded tips 2| which diverge forwardly and serve to guide the arms into engagement with an envelope. The blade 22 extends between the arms longitudinally thereof with its shank 23 embedded in the handle portion of the body and, at opposite sides of the blade, there are sloping faces 24 so that the device may be freely tilted while ripping open an envelope.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A letter opener comprising a solid body constituting a handle and spaced arms extending forwardly therefrom and having diverging front ends, and a blade extending longitudinally between said arms in spaced relation thereto and sharpened along its sides and front end, and a shank for said blade embedded in the body.

2. A letter opener comprising a body constituting a handle and spaced arms extending forwardly therefrom and having diverging front ends, and a blade extending longitudinally between said arms in spaced relation thereto and sharpened along its sides and front end and having a shank at its rear end embedded in the body, and guards projecting from opposite sides of the body adjacent its junction with rear ends of the arms.

ROBERT T. CUMMINGS. 

